Students in Portland Public Schools have missed three days of school as a teachers strike that began last week drags on with no end in sight.

The Oregon school district canceled classes for Thursday and Friday last week after the Portland Association of Teachers authorized a strike to demand the school district provide higher wages and implement a hard cap on classroom sizes. The district serves more than 49,000 students at 81 schools, according to its website.

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On Monday, the district canceled classes again, even as negotiations with the union continued through the weekend. Portland Public School officials say the price tag of the union's demands exceeds $200 million, funds the district says do not exist.

In addition to its monetary demands, the Portland Association of Teachers has pushed several social justice-related demands, expanding a trend among teachers unions to use collective bargaining negotiations to push for progressive policy goals.

"We want to see PPS invest in safe buildings, racial equity in schools, restorative justice, expanding early learning and preschool and more time for teaching, over testing," Angela Bonilla, the president of the Portland teachers union, wrote in an op-ed for the Oregonian.

In a separate op-ed, Portland Public Schools Board of Directors Chairman Gary Hollands and Vice Chairman Herman Greene said that district revenues have "lagged far behind inflation," preventing the district from agreeing to the union's demands.

"Within our limited funds, we want to keep our educators among the state’s highest paid while also raising wages for our lowest-paid employees," Hollands and Greene wrote. "Inflation and the increased cost-of-living in Portland have impacted everyone. We want all employees to earn a living wage, and as many as possible to earn a thriving wage."

The impasse showed little sign of breaking as negotiators met through the weekend to pursue an agreement. The tone from union leadership seemed to soften a bit, even as it became clear that classes would not resume on Monday.

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In a statement to KGW8, Bonilla said the union was "encouraged by the improved dialogue" during negotiations over the weekend, but the union president said there was a sizable amount of ground to cover before the strike could be called off.

"PPS management has a long way to go to get our students what they need, settle this contract and get educators and students back into the classrooms,” Bonilla said.